Vega Log Team Mk 1.7

[RedEclipse]

Vega Log Mk 1,7
Log Report 13
James Mace
Position: Vega captain; Lyra Defensive Wing technical supervisor
Topic: Powerplant mount

All work on Vega was suspended, and all personnel working on the project were present at the conference, where we, together with ALG, informed the team about all the exhaustive details. In fact, half of the team could have stayed at their posts and continued working on their modules, but safety is paramount-during the transfer of reactors from Ketos to Vega, anything could go wrong. Since the weight of the barge is almost equal to that of the entire shipyard, we cannot risk exposing personnel to danger. Therefore, teams 47, 19, and 03 received all instructions and synchronized with the other teams.

Workers shuttle departed from Carthage dock and headed for Vega's airlock. If the automatics had been operational, there would have been no problem with that. However, since the ship was completely de-energized, the airlock was wide open. After the shuttle captain manually navigated through the airlock, some crew members in spacesuits exited to power up the generators-these had been shut down at the time of the briefing. As lights illuminated the deck, the doors slowly moved closer together. I heard a muffled click and a slight vibration passing through my body; it was clear we were not in danger of venting into open space. While a muffled buzz filled Vega-the Life Support System began filling the ship with air-our crew hurriedly donned heavy construction suits with built-in exoskeletons and reinforced frames. Although heavy, these suits are essential because many hazards can crush an unprotected person during emergency repairs.

For a moment, Vega resembled a chaotic hive of people scurrying about. I thought some crew members might need reprimanding-but with army precision, everyone was ready within five minutes. We were prepared to enter the ship; meanwhile, the shuttle did not wait for pressure equalization outside Vega because it simply wasn't necessary.

Carthage's control systems could not monitor Ketos' maneuvering engines directly and dispatched several heavy lifters to stabilize and steady the vessel relative to the shipyard. Since the area where the barge was located was cluttered with asteroids-though asteroid trajectory alarms remained silent-any sudden deviation during unloading could cause a localized disaster with fatalities. To mitigate this risk, Carthage took precautionary measures so that unloading reactors directly from Ketos into Vega was as stabilized as possible.

By the time our shuttle doors opened, it felt as if we were on autopilot as we moved through Vega's engineering and living sections. The inner chaos-burned cables, damaged floors and walls-was gone; however, Vega still bore little resemblance to a fully prepared ship. While we were busy building reactors with ALG support, onboard crew worked tirelessly on redesigning all power systems responsible for everything-from restroom lighting to guidance and weapon systems. Given increased power demands and internal redesigns to meet Rheinland standards, radical measures had to be taken.

We navigated through every system-including even the airlock we used earlier-during our approach. Fortunately, we successfully made our way through endless corridors and hangars by moving up and down various levels; many compartments remained damaged or sealed off due to danger outside. Eventually, we reached a massive corridor that ran through the entire ship-and through it we arrived at the airlock. At this moment, Vega was tilted to its left side; half of our crew lost their footing-a flurry of colorful language crackled over comms. Contacting Carthage revealed that a small asteroid had struck Ketos earlier, causing it to veer off course and its stern to slip over Vega's side. Fortunately, it could have been worse.
We entered the airlock and closed it behind us. The compressor began working monotonously to equalize pressure before we could exit into a reactor compartment that featured a large hole leading into space-carefully prepared by our colleagues for safe entry of the powerplant modules.

Team has entered a vast hall filled with blinding light. Unlike other sections of Vega-which looked battered-the reactor deck appeared brand new: pristine equipment installed along walls with wiring leads taped in place; only connecting them to reactors remained ahead. From an overhead view torn from plans hung a faint green glow emanating from within.
From one side wall-several hundred meters away-you could faintly see Ketos' stern approaching slowly as it aligned precisely with Vega's unloading sluice opening. Once Ketos positioned itself so that its outer armor reached our unloading section-and its airlock opened-the reactor compartment appeared before us. Our team didn't hesitate: knowing that Ketos' trajectory stability couldn't be guaranteed indefinitely-we hooked both reactors using magnetic winches, dismantled them from their fasteners on Ketos' barge-and began reloading them into Vega.

Despite how critical this mission was-and nerves stretched thin-we managed without breaking a sweat; although tension was high due to potential destabilization risks-everything went smoothly: reactors successfully transferred; magnetic winches disconnected; Ketos safely distanced itself from Vega and Carthage shipyard.

Our team completed their part of the job and left Vega for rest and crew rotation. While they take a break, others will reassemble reactor decks and proceed with wiring systems and final connections to Vega's external systems.